Gene Rayburn

[JSP]

Is it just me or did Gene Rayburn's health decline somewhat rapidly between 1984 and 1999, during the last 15 years of his life? I think a lot of it could have been attributed to suffering from age discrimination after his real age leaked out on an Entertainment Tonight report. This was a guy who loved working, and when work became scarce, he got depressed, gained weight and just sort of faded away. Do you think Gene deserved more airtime on television in his later years or do you think he had a long enough career? Meaning, did you feel sorry for Gene, or do you think he should have been grateful for what he had?

[howilu]

When Match Game ended its syndicated run in 1982, three years after CBS canceled the successful daytime version, Gene Rayburn never had any other hit shows after that. He co-hosted with Jon (Bowzer) Bauman The Match Game/Hollywood Squares in 1983, a revival of Break the Bank in 1985 where he was fired after 13 years of dismal ratings and a short lived panel show on AMC The Movie Masters.

Rayburn was definitely getting up in years when he was hosting Break the Bank, he was 67 when he began hosting the show and the real culprit was Entertainment Tonight, who revealed his age and it made him difficult to find work.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by howilu

When Match Game ended its syndicated run in 1982, three years after CBS canceled the successful daytime version, Gene Rayburn never had any other hit shows after that. He co-hosted with Jon (Bowzer) Bauman The Match Game/Hollywood Squares in 1983, a revival of Break the Bank in 1985 where he was fired after 13 years of dismal ratings and a short lived panel show on AMC The Movie Masters.

Rayburn was definitely getting up in years when he was hosting Break the Bank, he was 67 when he began hosting the show and the real culprit was Entertainment Tonight, who revealed his age and it made him difficult to find work.

Yeah I know. That doesn't really answer the question I asked though, that's just more a statement of the facts. Did you feel sorry for Gene in not getting any more work, or do you think "eh, he had a good run"?

[howilu]

To me, He had a very good run of close to 40 years in radio and TV, starting in the 40s when he worked at WNEW Radio in New York and in the 50s became the announcer/sidekick on The Tonight Show with Steve Allen. But for game shows, he'll always be remembered for two incarnations of Match Game.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by howilu

To me, He had a very good run of close to 40 years in radio and TV, starting in the 40s when he worked at WNEW Radio in New York and in the 50s became the announcer/sidekick on The Tonight Show with Steve Allen. But for game shows, he'll always be remembered for two incarnations of Match Game.

Yeah, I agree. Gene had a good run. Still hard to believe he was Ed McMahon on the Tonight Show before Ed McMahon was on The Tonight Show.

[JSP]

Here's Gene when he hosted "Saturday Morning Live", in between Match Game gigs.

http://youtu.be/NOWG8BW7hDU

[PhoenixAcres]

Originally Posted by JSP

Is it just me or did Gene Rayburn's health decline somewhat rapidly between 1984 and 1999, during the last 15 years of his life? I think a lot of it could have been attributed to suffering from age discrimination after his real age leaked out on an Entertainment Tonight report. This was a guy who loved working, and when work became scarce, he got depressed, gained weight and just sort of faded away. Do you think Gene deserved more airtime on television in his later years or do you think he had a long enough career? Meaning, did you feel sorry for Gene, or do you think he should have been grateful for what he had?

Gene Rayburn was a veteran of the entertainment and game show industries and was probably (in my opinion) the greatest game show host in American history. Seeing him on Match Game '73, he just epitomizes what a good host should be. Always smiling, laughing, and making jokes with the panel and contestants, all in a very classy way without making anyone uncomfortable. Gene as host is just Gene being himself and having a great time at it.

To answer your question, yes, I think Gene deserved to continue working as long as he felt able, despite already having a boatload of accomplishments to his name. I thought it was disgusting how some game show producers in the '80s would refuse to hire him solely because of his age. Those acts of discrimination probably did contribute to his health decline.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by phoenixAcres16

To answer your question, yes, I think Gene deserved to continue working as long as he felt able, despite already having a boatload of accomplishments to his name. I thought it was disgusting how some game show producers in the '80s would refuse to hire him solely because of his age. Those acts of discrimination probably did contribute to his health decline.

I do agree his depression over not working in his later years is what really killed him. He was a complicated guy. You feel sorry for him, but from what I hear he wasn't always the nicest guy.

[PhoenixAcres]

Originally Posted by JSP

He was a complicated guy. You feel sorry for him, but from what I hear he wasn't always the nicest guy.

True, there was much more to his complicated life than his bubbly host persona. I've read some things about his personal life that were pretty disturbing, and they definitely made me look at him in a new light. But the fact remains that he was able to assume a genial, entertaining, and lovable on-screen personality. While I may not agree with all the actions and choices he made on his own time, I'll always appreciate and remember the laughter he brought as a game show host.